Understanding Human Impact

Benjamin Grant, the founder of the Daily Overview, an environmentally minded project that uses photography to show how human activity has impacted the Earth over time, explains how these images have the power to change perspectives in his talk on satellites.

Grant begins by exploring the emotional connections that astronauts made when they were able to see the Earth as a whole from the Moon -- citing a greater appreciation of the planet's beauty, and a deeper connection to all of those who inhabit it. This, he states, is referred to as the "overview effect," due to its ability to cause people to develop new cognitive frameworks.

Although only a small handful of people have been to space and have had the chance to gaze at the Earth from afar, Grant explains throughout his talk on satellites how he's been taking steps to connect more of the world. He creates images for the Daily Overview by curating the shots taken by satellites, and focuses most specifically on the areas that humans have impacted the most.

By exposing these images, Grant has been able to change perspectives and push for change, as he's been able to show people how infrastructure, pollution, livestock, and more have affected the environments that they inhabit on a large scale.